The Commons
by kissmyquiver
Summary: The entire gang works at a country club owned by Tony's father. It's called the Commons, but what happens to the group is anything but ordinary. Lifeguard/College AU. Eventual Clintasha and Pepperony, with a slight Romanogers brotp. I'm still deciding what to do with Steve and Bruce, but I'll get there eventually. Please Review :)
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is my new fanfiction, The Commons. I'm not sure how long it will last for, or how long it will be because at this point its just gonna be funnnn! I'm really excited and I hope that you guys will like this story and this concept as much as I do! As the summary says, this is a Lifeguard AU, and in it I will try my best to rotate between characters as the story continues...I'm sorry if anyone was actually waiting for this story. It took a while to get up because I promised myself I would get done with summer reading first but that hasnt happened yet so :/ **

**Please leave a review, follow, or favorite, especially to let me know how you like it and if you think I should continue!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. *sobs***

**Enjoy! **

* * *

Natasha Romanoff sighed. Job interviews were always the worst. She absolutely hated the process of filling out piles of repetitive information, tax crap, and annoying employee questionnaires. Even after displaying her less-than-excited attitude for the world to see, Natasha still dragged herself down to the pool director's office getting ready for her interview. She was applying to be a lifeguard and the pressure was on. Natasha would use this money to pay for her college education later that year.

The dark oak door to the director's office creaked open. Behind it was a strawberry blond woman with a tiny frame. She was dressed surprisingly casual and wore athletic shorts and a t-shirt over what appeared to be a swimsuit. "Hello," the woman began to introduce herself, "I'm Virginia Potts, pool director. You can call me Pepper. Are you Natasha?" Natasha stood up from the brown leather chair in front of Pepper's desk, and shook Pepper's hand.

"I am," she replied. Pepper continued to move to the back of her desk, while Natasha sat back down in her chair.

"So Natasha," Pepper grabbed Natasha's résumé off the desk before her and began flipping through it. "Why do you want to work at The Commons?"

"I need money," she blurted. Laughing, Natasha restarted. "Wait that sounds bad. I'm going to be a freshman at the University this fall, and I thought it might be a good idea to get a job or two to start covering the costs of tuition. I have a small athletic scholarship but I don't think it will be enough for all four years."

Pepper's face lit up. "Sweet! I'm going to be a junior there this fall. I'm majoring in business and I totally understand where you're coming from. That's the reason I got this job."

Natasha's face lit up as well, however her stomach dropped. What did Pepper do to become Pool Director before graduation? This operation was beginning to look a little shady.

Pepper continued to skim over Natasha's résumé. "Well, your grades look great, and the comments from your old bosses are literally the best I think I've ever seen. You're hired, but under one condition."

Natasha's face dropped with her spirits. "And that is?"

Pepper smiled at her. "Can I call you Nat?"

Natasha rolled her eyes before beaming back at Pepper. "Of course."

"Fabulous!" Pepper clapped her hands together and giggled. "Now on to everyone's favorite part-company policy."

Nat groaned and Pepper laughed. Maybe, Natasha thought, we could become good friends this summer.

Pepper gave Natasha a look. "Oh come on, it's not THAT bad." She pulled a bright blue binder from a desk drawer labeled 'Rules'. "Okay so first, here's your uniform. Wear it at the swim meets and parties, otherwise the uniform is pretty relaxed. We just ask that you wear a one piece swimsuit here at work.

"Secondly, if your grades suck, we will fire you. For our student workers, school comes first. If you ever need to study or take a test while you're working, just let me know and I can get one of our part time guards on it.

"Third, here is a copy of our lifeguard handbook. We have our own set of rules, and it's kind of nice to know that our guards actually know what they're doing." Natasha laughed as Pepper pushed a handbook packet and two uniform polos across her desk.

"Finally, tomorrow is your first day of work is tomorrow, where I'll introduce you to our head guards, Phil Coulson and Maria Hill. I usually supervise and only guard a little bit, but tomorrow I can show you around and introduce you to some of your co-workers." Natasha smiled.

"Thank you so much Pepper! For once I'm excited to come to work!" The pair laughed and said their goodbyes.

"Thanks again Pepper! I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Yep! Study hard and you might be able to take your test tomorrow!" Pepper yelled as the door slammed shut.

Natasha Romanoff sighed once more, but this time, it was a sigh of relief.

* * *

As Natasha exited Pepper's office, she ran straight into a co-worker. He was blond, very buff, and very handsome.

"Oh my goodness!" He stopped her and continued to accidentally block her path. "I'm so sorry for running into you!" He stuck out his hand. "I'm Steve Rodgers, and it looks like I'm one of your co-workers!"

Natasha smiled and shook his hand. Steve was nice, and if all of her co-workers were this nice, she wouldn't have any problems. She shifted awkwardly to avoid dropping her uniforms and information packet. "I'm Natasha," she told him, "Natasha Romanoff."

Steve smiled and released his grip from their handshake. Natasha readjusted the pile in her arms. "Let me be the first to congratulate you on your new job!" He told her.

"Thank -" Natasha was about to thank Steve, but she was interrupted by a loud whistle. One of the other guards, a blond, slimmer guy, had hopped into the water to help a child who wandered into the deep end.

The guard grabbed the child and swam to the wall. From there he maneuvered the child to the shallow end where he could stand. The guard gave a stern talk to the child before hopping out of the pool to dry off.

"I should go relieve him," Steve told Natasha, shaking her hand once more. "It was really nice meeting you!"

"Yep, you too!" She responded.

Natasha walked out of the gate, passing the other guard she had seen rescue the boy. As Natasha left she could feel his eyes on her back.

She hopped into her car, dumping the pile of stuff she had into the passenger seat. Natasha put her key into the ignition before turning on the engine and driving to her apartment.

* * *

**okay so this chapter was kind of short..the next one will be longer, I promise :) Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think in the reviews! Your feedback means everything to me!**

**Have a nice day!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm back! Just a warning, this next chapter is a little introductory. Natasha is being showed the ropes of her new job, so it might feel a bit slow... Please leave a review, or maybe follow or favorite? Thanks to Fluticorn and reecse42! you guys are my favorites :)  
Disclaimer: I still don't own marvel, in case any of you were wondering.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Natasha's apartment was anything but the Ritz. It was a one-bedroom, one-bathroom on the third floor of a four-floor building. It was only accessible by staircase and was filled with weird looking tenants. Her room number was 309, and her door was chipping, periwinkle paint.  
As she entered, Natasha remembered how bland the room was. In the middle of one wall there was a bed and in the corners were doorways to each other room-the bathroom, the kitchen, the closet, and the exit. The floors, walls, and ceilings were painted white, and Natasha had yet to unpack so the room had little color.  
Nat set her keys and her purse down on the bed and began to unpack the boxes piled up inside her closet. First, Natasha unpacked her sheets and a comforter. The sheets had multi-colored polka-dots on them and the comforter was a deep cobalt. Natasha piled pillows on the top of her bed and ventured back into her closet.  
About two hours later, the light outside had begun to fade and Natasha had gotten through all ten boxes of clothing. She arranged it all by season, style, then color. Nat knew that the sudden burst of organization within her wouldn't last, but she was desperate to have a semi-neat closet for at least a week. Hopefully her super-nice closet would inspire Nat to keep it organized for once.  
There were about two boxed left. One was full of dry foods, and the other was filled with the extra toiletries and miscellaneous decorations.  
Having collapsed on her bed, Natasha pulled out her lifeguard handbook and read for a good half an hour. When she turned the last page of the twelve page packet, Nat's stomach rumbled loudly. Groaning, she heaved herself to her feet and pulled a package of ramen out of the food box. Natasha had a pot, so she filled it with water and placed it on the stove. While she was waiting for the water to boil Natasha proceeded to unpack the food box.  
After eating, unpacking, and studying, Natasha had nothing to do but read a book she checked out from the library. Nat curled up on her bed, and read until she fell asleep on the covers.

* * *

"Hey, Nat!" Pepper greater Natasha at the gate to the pool area.

"Hi, Pepper." Natasha followed Pepper onto the pool deck. Pepper was wearing a light pink shirt and a navy pair of athletic shorts. Her straight hair was pulled back into a braid, and her bangs were secured by a thin headband.

Natasha carried in her swim bag, filled with the necessities. She had her towel, her breathing mask, a change of clothes, and a whistle on a lanyard. Pepper saw Nat's bag, and lead her to the employee break room. Inside was a gigantic space reserved for the lifeguards and snack bar employees. Lining one wall was a row of lockers, adjacent to a full-sized refrigerator. Across from the entrance was another door labeled "to pool" and in the center of the room was a round table.

Pepper unlocked a locker with a lanyard with three or four keys on it. She turned back to Natasha, holding out the lanyard. "These are your keys. This one-" she held out one labeled with the letter G "-opens the gate. This other one-" this time labeled with the letter L "-is for your locker. This extra key is for this room."

"Thanks," Natasha said. She pulled the whistle off her neck and reattached it to the lanyard Pepper handed her.

"Anytime. By the way, the extra door leads to our indoor facility. We tend to use it more in the winter, but there are always a few guests who like to use it during both seasons. Also, if you have a lunch, you can keep it in the fridge. If you don't have one, that's fine. The snack bar has an employee menu that you can order off of for free."

Natasha finished filling up her locker with everything she wouldn't need to take back to her apartment and shoved the rest of her bag into her locker. She locked it up and followed Pepper to a second table in the corner of the room. It was strategically placed near the door to the outside, and on it was a number of color-coded binders.

"So these binders," Pepper started, "are new this year. I just became Pool Director, and so I decided that this place needed some organization." She paused. "This purple binder is the schedule." Pepper opened it up. "As you can see, the hours everyone works are compiled into one place. This is so if you need someone to cover for you, you can just check to see who's off. The schedule is made every Sunday, but I might make them ahead of time." Pepper set the purple binder down and moved on to the next three. "These blue ones are for guest fees, which we'll show you how to do when you have a closing shift. This green one is filled with extra copies of all the different sheets we use."

Pepper and Natasha moved back outside to the front desk. The desk was shaped like a half circle. Behind it was an umbrella and two seats. Natasha and Pepper sat down.

"Pepper, am I on desk duty today?"

She laughed. "Only because its the only thing I can teach you."

Natasha nodded and the pair laughed. On the desk in front of them was two more binders and multiple clipboards and flyers advertising the different activities around the club.

"Okay, so the quicker we get through this, the faster I can tell you about all of our co-workers!"

Natasha giggled at Pepper's eagerness. "Is that even allowed?"

"I'm the boss. Its allowed now."

"If you say so."

"Okay...but seriously. This first binder is the sign in for the slips are used to keep track of the guests. If a member wants to bring a guest, then you have them fill out one of these." Natasha nodded. "Okay and this other binder is an employee binder. You test the water every hour and if you clean the bathroom you just mark it off."

"Sweet. Thank you for showing me the ropes. I think I'll do great here." Natasha smiled.

Pepper's face lit up. "You have no idea how happy I am to have you here!" Pep's voice got quieter and quicker. "Two years ago, the old pool director, Tony Stark, only hired his guy-friends, so when I finally got a job, I was the only girl."

Natasha's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Isn't that illegal?"

Pepper shrugged. "I'm not sure. I know that Tony ran the place into the ground, and left me to deal with a hellhole workplace."

Natasha's jaw dropped. "How did he even get a job here anyway?"

"His dad owns the club. Which reminds me, Tony hangs out here a lot, so if he harasses you, come get me and I'll slap some sense into him.

Nat nodded, wondering what problems he could possibly cause.

"He thinks I'm his personal assistant or something. Its so annoying." The first family appeared at the gate, and Pepper nodded in their direction. "You can take care of them, I'm going to kick Steve and Clint out of the pool."

Pepper left, leaving Natasha to smile and greet the family as they signed in. So far, so good, Natasha thought.

* * *

**So, how do you like it so far? Please drop a review and let me know! The story is just starting out, and it will definitely pick up closer to chapter four. I have only written up to three, but I have some good ideas for four, five, and six. Hopefully everything will go a lot better!  
**

**Also, I finished summer reading which means that I can concentrate a little more on this story until school starts, so if you like it so far stay tuned!**

**Thank you so much for reading! Have a nice day!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry for not updating... I keep forgetting when I last updated and ugh its all a mess.**

**Disclaimer: Yeah the marvel universe is very much not mine.**

**Anyways, Enjoy!**

* * *

When Pepper returned, she sat back down beside Natasha. Being pool director meant that Pepper could pretty much do whatever she pleased, as long as work was still getting done. Once the day was over, Natasha knew bits and pieces about some of her co-workers. Of course, after they rotated positions and began their break Nat was introduced to them.

She first met Bruce. He was a shy, quiet fellow. Bruce had curly brown hair, glasses, and was on the skinnier side. Pepper told her that he was very nice, and extremely intelligent. The only problem that Pepper had with him was that Bruce was best friends with Tony Stark, which meant that Tony used Bruce as means to get to her, and Pepper didn't like that.

She must have a crush on Tony or something, Natasha thought. She shot a look in Pepper's direction. For hating him so much she talks about him an awful lot.

Next, Nat was re-introduced to Steve. "Wait you two have already met?" Pepper asked. The pair nodded. "Where was I?"

"In your office," Nat told Pepper as they watched another family sign in.

"Huh." Pepper kicked her feet up on top of the desk and looked from Natasha to Steve. "Okay then. Rodgers, go enjoy your break." He laughed and turned towards the employee room. Pepper re-angled herself towards Natasha. "Are you doing any sports for the university?"

"Yeah," she said slowly. "I'm a diver." Natasha did a lot of gymnastics when she was younger. While making the transition to high school, she needed a sport, and it wasn't about to be cheerleading. Diving was a way for Nat to continue gymnastics off the mats, while receiving an almost full ride to the university.

"Oh really? That's fun. I've always wondered about diving." Pepper paused. "Yeah Steve plays football for us."

His broad shoulders and washboard abs told Natasha that much. Steve was very well built and almost fun to look at. Of course, he wasn't exactly Nat's type.

Natasha snuck a look at the clock behind them, and her stomach rumbled. It was almost 1:30. "Do you have a lunch?" Nat asked Pepper.

"Yeah, um its on the top shelf. Dark blue."

"Okay." Natasha moved towards the employee room and brought back both of their lunches a minute later. She sat down next to Pepper, and the duo began to eat lunch, and Pepper told a really funny story about a rookie guard from a few years back. The pair giggled for a while, but Pepper got really quiet rather quickly. She looked out into the parking lot and shivered. "Are you okay?" Natasha asked.

"He's here. Tony Stark. Follow my lead, it's about to get weird."

Natasha rolled her eyes. Tony couldn't be _that_ bad, right?

Not even a full twenty seconds later, a young man with scruffy brown hair and a pair of gold aviator sunglasses walked through the gate.

"Hey Pep," he said, picking up the sign-in pen. Natasha looked at Pepper, who rolled her eyes. Tony looked up from the sign-in sheet and pulled off his glasses. He paused, leaning on the table. Natasha ripped her eyes from his, the eye-to-eye contact was getting awkward. Tony raised his eyebrows and smiled. "And who are you?" Tony asked, giving Natasha a look that ran up and down her body.

Pepper looked like her head was about to explode. Her face was getting redder and redder, as she struggled to control her temper. "Tony," she warned, "this is Natasha, our newest lifeguard. Natasha, this is Tony Stark. His father owns the complex."

"Hi-" Natasha stuck out her hand to shake Tony's but was cut off. Tony had grabbed her hand and wrote his number on it. Before she could pull her hand away, Tony had written the number, dropped the pen, and winked.

"See you girls around," he told them.

"Ugh. I'm so sorry you had to meet that," at this point, smoke was practically coming out of Pepper's ears. "He's always like that. If you don't call him, he won't bother you, except maybe in person. I suggest you put his number in your phone though. Just in case he finds your number and sends you sexual messages."

Natasha laughed. "It's okay." She shrugged off the incident and tried to go back to eating her lunch. They had a long day ahead of her and the pair needed as much help as they could get.

* * *

An hour and four awkward interactions with Tony later, Pepper introduced Natasha to Clint Barton.

He was smaller than Steve, yet well built and bigger than Bruce. When Natasha shook his hand, Clint looked into her eyes with his cold, blue ones. Pepper told her that Clint swam and was the sole founder of the university's archery team. He, like Bruce and Steve, was going to be a sophomore this year.

Not to mention, his arms were gorgeous.

"I don't know what's up with him today," Pepper had said after he came off break. "Usually he's happier. And louder."

Natasha shrugged the encounter off, like she had with the rest of the day. She was getting a tad paranoid.

Besides meeting her new co-workers, getting to know Pepper, and sorting out guest fees, Natasha's job wasn't actually all that interesting. Every hour or so, she would test the pool and walk the perimeter of the pool, straightening the chairs and picking up trash.

The sun was sweltering and Nat felt herself reapplying sunscreen every fifteen minutes or so. Thankfully, her shift ended at three, so Natasha was able to go home and relax for the rest of the day. Before she left for her apartment, Nat stopped into Pepper's office. Usually after lunch Pepper returned to her office to do 'official director work' that Natasha suspected was mostly online games.

"So, how was your first day at work?" She asked, closing her computer window and stacking some papers.

Natasha paused. "I thought it went well. Tony was kind of annoying, it was really hot all day, but it was good so far."

"Yay! I'm glad you like it!" Nat started heading for the door again, but Pepper stopped her. "Oh wait I totally forgot. I have your cell phone number from your application, so I will text you tonight. Okay?"

"Yep. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye!" Pepper gave a little wave and Nat headed out the door.

While walking out the gate, Natasha was greeted by Clint. "You leaving too?" he asked. Clint Barton and Natasha had not really talked since she was introduced to him hours prior.

"Yep."

There was an awkward pause.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yep."

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a review or follow/favorite this story so I know if I'm doing a good job! Your feedback keeps me going!**

**I apologize for my use of the word 'washboard' in this story.**

**Oh my gosh. I can't wait for the next update. It'll be my favorite chapter thus far! I'm severely excited. It'll probably be the longest one yet(no snickering fluticorn)!**

**Also, just a heads up, when school starts, band starts. I will be able to write more, but not type or post. So if the updates are slower, I apologize.**

**Have a nice day!**


	4. Chapter 4

**YIKES! IM SO SORRY I HAVENT UPDATED IN A WHILE IM SO SORRY! I've been really excited for this chapter though, so I hope you guys enjoy it! Please remember to drop a review! (ALSO: LONGEST CHAPTER YET! *celebrates*)**

**Disclaimer: I dont own marvel.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

It was a week later when Natasha was finally acquainted with all of her co-workers. On her second day, Natasha was introduced to Maria Hill and Phil Coulson. Maria ran the indoor pool while Phil worked the outside. The pair worked closely, and according to Pepper everyone was convinced they were dating.

When Natasha wasn't guarding, she spent most of her time with Steve and Pepper. It was nice to know people and have friends outside of her apartment building. On a day when they were both off, Natasha and Pepper went out to lunch together. Steve even picked up Natasha from her apartment and took her to work once. Their shifts had been the same, and Steve was coming past her place anyways.

On other days, Natasha met other rookie guards like herself. They were new as well, but they weren't getting everything as fast as Nat did. She talked to a couple of them, Jane, Darcy, and Peggy, but there were some Natasha chose to steer clear of.

After a long, hot, uneventful, Friday, Steve, Pepper, and Natasha walked out together as a group. "Hey Natasha," Pepper began. Natasha drew in a sharp breath. Pepper only called her by her full name when she was in trouble. "Are you coming to the beginning of year party?"

"What's that?" Natasha asked.

Pepper gasped. "Wait you haven't heard of it yet?" Steve's eyes widened. "It's this great party that the Stark's host every year. You have to come, it's practically initiation."

Natasha groaned. "I'm not exactly the party kind...besides, I have lots of laundry to do tonight. It's literally piles of clothes."

Steve skipped in front of Pepper and Natasha before turning around. He looked at Nat, "I usually hate it too, but it's actually kind of fun after a few drinks."

Natasha crinkled her face up and Pepper whined. "Please Nat? For me?"

She sighed, unable to resist Pepper's eyes. "Fine-" Pepper and Steve high-fived "-but I'm only staying for a little while. I have to open tomorrow at 10."

"Yay!" Pepper yelled. The group of three separated and headed towards their cars. "Wear your party clothes!"

"I'll pick you up at eight!" Steve yelled. The trio broke off and headed their separate ways home.

* * *

The Stark's driveway was very long and windy. Of course, after Natasha thought it was over, they were only at the gate marking the halfway point. As they drove up the hill to Tony's house, Steve made it a priority to watch Natasha's reaction.

Tony's house, actually Tony's mansion was crazy huge. From just the front you could see a pool and some tennis courts on the left of the house. The driveway lead up to a small looking garage underneath the house.

After parking, Steve led Natasha up through the house. As the pair made their way to the party, Steve set his hand in the small of her back. Natasha sped up, her black Vans making a nice even sound on the tile floor. Whether the gesture was friendly or more than friendly, Natasha was shutting it down. She wasn't ready for a relationship.

Steve got the message and dropped his arms to his side awkwardly. Natasha fell back into line with him.

As they moved to the final room, Natasha began to hear the soft thumping of bass. When they crossed the threshold of the room to the party, Natasha was a little surprised at what she saw.

The party had technically started fifteen minutes ago, and there were already pop and beer cans strewn all over the living room. There was a cooler and a keg about every five feet, and in the far corner there was a DJ. Half if their co-workers were dancing in the middle of the floor.

Tony Stark, in all of his glory, was standing on top of the coffee table. He was probably already drunk, or getting close, judging by his careless dancing. A purple bathrobe was draped across his shoulders, barely hiding the fact that he was wearing a pair of navy blue swim trunks underneath. Tony's dancing was off beat, and his singing off-key, yet he continued

"Let's go outside," Steve suggested as he began to lead Natasha to the open patio doors.

"Natasha!" Someone yelled. Nat looked up to see a very happy Pepper Potts coming in her direction. "You look so nice!"

Natasha subconsciously looked down at her dark-wash skinny jeans and leather jacket. "Thank you! You look great too!"

Pepper smiled. She was wearing a bright green top and a pair of jean shorts. Pepper grabbed Nat's hand and dragged her to the corner table she had reserved for their group. Maria and Phil were already sitting at the table. Pepper, Natasha, and Steve sat down with them.

"Hey guys," Steve greeted.

"Hey!" Maria responded. Phil nodded.

"So are these parties always like this?" Natasha asked. The last few seconds had been kind of awkward and she was eager to get conversation started.

"Yes," everyone replied in unison. Maria glanced at Pepper, who began to elaborate.

"They are usually kind of slow in the beginning, so like, right now, but it'll get really crazy in a half an hour or so, and then it will stay crazy until everyone falls asleep around four ish. Last year, half of our staff came to work hung over, but it was a slow day and we made sure everyone stayed safe. It was such a nightmare last year. I heard from Clint that they pushed a bed into the pool. I left before it happened."

Phil laughed. "Oh my goodness, Clint is the best that these things."

"How?" Nat asked. "Does he get super shit-faced, or?"

"No," Pepper paused. "I don't think so. I actually don't think I've ever seen Clint drunk."

"He practically hides," Phil told them "on the roof." He pointed up towards the gorgeous colors of the sunset. The group could see Clint in the middle of the roof on a lounge chair. "I have no clue how he got up there, but he has the best seat in the house."

Before anyone else could say anything, one of the lifeguards Natasha hadn't met yet, Thor, came running outside.

"Steve!" He yelled. "You're being summoned."

Steve sighed and stood up from the table. "I guess I'll see you guys later."

The group said its goodbyes, but when Steve was finally inside Pepper giggled. "Every year Steve says he won't drink at the party, and every year he gets really drunk."

"Fabulous," Natasha mumbled. "He was my ride home."

"I can take you," Pepper assured her.

"Oh thank goodness."

"I might be a while though. The DJ isn't terrible and the night is still young, so I might crank out some of my moves." Pepper punched her arm into the air and then stood up from the table. She then proceeded to walk like an Egyptian to the patio door.

"Oh no! Spare us!" The table laughed and Pepper looked back and winked at the group before disappearing into the house.

Natasha stood up too. "I'm going to explore the state for a while. See you guys later?" Phil and Maria nodded and Natasha headed for the pool gate.

Once Nat cleared the gate and passed the giant bushes, she realized how lost she was. The Stark estate was enormous. Natasha walked a little bit, and ended up right next to an ocean side cliff that overlooked the setting sun. She decided to sit on a nearby bench and watch the sun set.

The yellows and reds faded into the ocean, and soon the purples and blues followed. Before the sun completely set, Natasha just gave herself the goal of making it around the house before the light disappeared.

After making her way to the far side of the house, Natasha found herself in the middle of a garden. In the shadows, closer to the house, Nat saw what she thought were a group of Tony's frat boys, already drunk. Natasha looked down at her watch it was only nine. The party technically started an hour ago, and the group of four, no five guys were already trashed.

Natasha sighed. She had dealt with people like this before. Slowly and quietly, she moved around the group and away from them.

"Hey sweetheart!" one called. He started chasing after her. "Wait up!" Soon the entire group was on her heels. Natasha picked up her pace. Maybe if she sped up, they would be too dizzy and drunk to chase after her. Right?

Wrong. One of the guys caught her hair and pulled, hard. Natasha shrieked. Right when she was about to spin around and punch her attacker, she heard a grunt, and her attacker let go of her hair.

Spinning around, Nat saw that someone had gone after her attacker and punched him in the jaw. The mystery person was going after the other four group members, and by the looks of things, the mystery person needed some help.

* * *

**ugh I feel so bad! Honestly! Band and School started and I've been writing, but just too busy to type! However today was pretty much a blowoff day for me, so I got some typing in. Please review, follow, and favorite! Literally the emails I get from the notifications keep me wanting to continue writing! **

**Thank you to all who reviewed; I had responses written out to you guys but frankly it is just too late right now so I'll put them in the next chapter.**

**Thank you so much for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**You guys got me in the mood to update :) I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I do!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Natasha threw herself back into the fight, even though it pretty much defeated the purpose of the mystery guy pulling her out of it.  
"What the hell?" one guy screamed as Natasha drop-kicked him in the stomach. He doubled over in pain before falling to the ground. Three more to go.  
The mystery person landed a pretty good punch on one of the guy's jaw. Another guy grabbed him from behind and tried to pull him to the ground. Natasha punched him, and the burly guy released the mystery person. He/she ripped himself from the guy's grip and went after another person. She gave another quick kick to his torso, but he wouldn't go down. Natasha considered her position carefully. She didn't want to go in close and compromise her position, but Natasha knew that if she didn't, the fight might drag out. Why not? Natasha thought. She went in close and grabbed his wrist with lightning speed. She brought it out behind him and pulled it up between his shoulder blades. The burly guy whimpered in pain before Natasha whispered, "I'll let go if you and your guys leave."  
Her attacker laughed and made an attempt to break free. Before he could even think about ripping his arm from Natasha's grasp, she pulled his arm further up his back. The attacker grimaced, but said nothing.  
Natasha looked to her left. The mystery man was still fighting the other two thugs. He kicked one with an oof, and sent him flying towards Natasha. With one, perfectly placed kick, she managed to keep her grip on the burly guy she was holding while kicking the guy tumbling towards her in the ribs.  
"Okay! Okay! We'll leave you guys alone!" The group picked itself up and ran off into the darkness, leaving Natasha alone with the mystery man.  
"Thanks for helping me out back there. I wouldn't have been able to take all of those thugs by myself," she told him.  
"Yeah, you're welcome. You weren't too bad yourself, actually."  
Natasha laughed. "Thanks. Are you okay?" There was a pause. "I also haven't gotten your name...?"  
The mystery guy moved closer, and Natasha's vision sharpened. "Yeah I'm fine," he told her. "I'll be a little sore in the morning, but whatever." There was another awkward pause. "My name is Clint, by the way." He stuck out his hand.  
"Clint Barton?" Natasha asked, shaking his hand.  
"Yeah...why?"  
"It's me, Natasha Romanoff. We work at The Commons together." Natasha still couldn't see really well, but she could see the structure of Clint's face change in recognition.  
"Oh yeah! Hey!"  
Natasha smiled. "While I have you here, can I ask a question?"  
"Sure." His voice sounded a little puzzled. What could she possibly be asking about?  
"Is it true that you sit up on the roof every time Tony has a party?"  
"Yes, actually." Clint began walking towards a nearby gutter. The house light made it easier to see the gutter's outline. The gutter led all the way to the the top of the roof, but it was placed close to the house and far beneath the roof's overhang. Clint climbed up the gutter and hopped onto a nearby second story balcony, and landed softly. "Care to join me?" He asked.  
"Sure," Natasha replied. She followed his lead up the gutter. A part of her was scared she would fall off the house, but if Clint could do it, so could she.  
From the balcony, Clint got onto the railing and hoisted himself onto the overhang. Natasha followed his lead once more, slipping up a bit at the very end. Clint grabbed her wrists and helped Natasha get onto the roof.  
"There you go."  
"Thanks."  
They climbed from one side of the roof to the very middle. The roof was mostly flat, but definitely slanted enough for water to roll off of it. The tiles were black, and still warm from the sun's heat,  
The pair sat down across from each other and between two skylights. Clint's lounge chair was nearby, but neither of them wanted to use it. When Natasha looked into the skylights, she could see the outline of dark bodies below in the soft purple and blue glow of the house.  
"I can see why you like it up here, Barton," she told him. From their spot they had a perfect view of downstairs and half a view of the pool down below. Maybe they couldn't see the entire pool, but they definitely saw enough.  
"Yeah," Clint told her, "I'm not really about the party life anymore."  
"Me neither," she nodded.  
An awkward silence ensued.  
"Let's play twenty questions," Clint suggested.  
Natasha groaned. "Bad idea. I can see where this is going and I don't like it."  
"C'mon, please!" he begged.  
"Ugh fine," she told him, folding her legs into criss-cross-applesauce and turning more towards Clint.  
"Okay so first question," Clint began. "What is your favorite color?"  
"Seriously?"  
"Yeah! I feel like you can't really know someone until you know the small stuff."  
Natasha rolled her eyes. "Black. Okay, so what's yours?"  
"Blue." He paused. "Second question. Do you play any sports?"  
"I'm a diver at the university."  
"Oh that's sweet! I've always been bad at diving. It's why I stick to archery and swimming," he laughed.  
"Trust me, it's not as hard as it looks. My next question for you is, what is your major?" Natasha schooched forward towards Clint.  
"Right now I'm pretty undecided, but I've been taking a lot of math, so maybe I'll teach it or be an engineer or something."  
"Ew."  
"What?" Clint asked.  
"How can you even take math?"  
"First of all, it's fun. Secondly, that counts as a question."  
Natasha gasped. "No fair!" She leaned forward and shoved Clint.  
He barely budged and the pair ended up laughing even harder.  
"Next question: where did you learn to fight?"  
Nat smiled. "I may of may not have taken a few self defense classes way back in the day. Next question: where are you from?"  
"I actually grew up here. Tony is one of my best friends. Before you say anything rash, he's actually a really nice guy when he isn't flirting...he's just kind of girl crazy."  
"Ugh, you say that again." Natasha held up her hand and flashed him her palm. The number Tony wrote on her hand wouldn't wash off so she decided to draw a rectangle of permanent marker around it.  
Clint groaned. "Don't tell me he's hit on you."  
"Yep."  
It was bugging Clint, and Natasha could tell. She pointed to her hand again. "See Clinton-can I call you that?- I even got his number."  
Natasha waved her hand in front of his face. Clint slapped it away and laughed. "That bastard." He paused and their laughter died down. "You can call me Clinton, but only if I can call you Nat. Or Tasha. I haven't decided yet."  
"If you must."

* * *

An hour later, Natasha and Clint had asked each other about everything from favorite food, to their first kiss, to their most embarrassing moment. "What are we at?" Nat asked, leaning back on her palms. Her legs were crossed out at the ankles and Clint laid beside her on his stomach.  
"I have three questions left and you have two."  
"Okay so question 19. Can you give me a ride home later? Steve brought me and at this rate I feel pretty confident that we are the last two sober people here."  
He laughed. "That was such a lame question, but yeah, I can take you home." Tasha checked her phone. No messages or calls. The time was going on 11.  
"Want to go check on everyone? Just to make sure they're all okay?" The pair had been trying to see the stars for the last hour, but the party was preventing them from seeing anything but the purple and blue haze from down below. Sure the roof was cool, but Natasha needed to stretch her legs without fearing falling off the roof.  
"I don't see why not." Clint rolled onto his back and stood up. He helped Natasha up and the pair made their way to the edge of the roof. Natasha looked over the edge. Without the glow from the pool, the area below was dark and void-like.  
"How do we-" before Natasha could finish her sentence, Clint launched himself off the roof and onto what seemed like a trampoline. "Clinton! What the hell?"  
"Just jump!" Clint yelled up at her, laughing. "You'll love it. Trust me!"  
Nat took a deep breath, and jumped off the roof.

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**Thank you guys so much! Thank you for reviewing! The feedback has been wonderful so far, and I'm super excited! Please remember to drop a review or favorite or follow this story!**

**As promised, here are some responses/shoutouts to those who reviewed!**

**Fluticorns - I did see your reaction, and it was perfect**

**Reecse42 - 3**

**Ally Downey - I'm glad you like it!**

**wkgreen - I hope the story stays that way!**

**poisionivy1123 - Thank you so much! I've been working really hard to try and capture Natasha's character, because a lot of fics make her a hardass but after watching the winter soldier I just think she can be really happy and fun too :) Also, this wont all be Natasha's POV... I'm trying to tell a very mixed story, but since Natasha had the introduction it might take a while before I transition. I'm new to third person, so I'm trying to get comfortable with it LOL I hope this answered your questions!**

**carolzocas - Thank you so much! For now I'm giving Natasha a normal background. Clint and Natasha usually connect through their past experiences and I kind of want to experiment with having them connect through other experiences and other things in common :) I hope I answered you question good enough for now :)**

**the-vintageclassic - well I guess you know now? :)**

**Thank you guys for all of your reviews! Keep 'em coming!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**hi...I'm so sorry for updating so late, but I promise I didn't forget about this story. October was just a very busy month and I'm hardly out of the storm. soooooo IM SORRY BUT I HAVE AN UPDATE FOR YOU HERE!**

**Disclaimer: **

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Boing! Natasha was thrown back into the air before landing back on her butt. "Geeze Clint," she told him, giggling. "Warn me just a little bit, okay?"

He chuckled and helped her to her feet. Clint then led her to the net's exit where they lowered themselves to the ground. At this point, Clint let go of Natasha's hand. She was glad he had, but honestly she hadn't even noticed he had been holding it. It was strange, feeling so comfortable to someone she barely knew.

They continued weaving in and out of the crowd outside. There were people in the pool with their clothes on, drinks in hand. Others were passed out on lounge chairs. Natasha had an inkling that the pool would smell like barf and alcohol in the morning.

The music could be heard from outside the house, as could the crowd of people could be seen from the inside. At this point in the party, most of the people present were not employees at the Commons, but random party crashers. Purple and blue light seeped out of the mansion's windows. Had the music not been so loud the sight would have been eerie.

Clint and Natasha stepped inside the house and were greeted by a wall of sweaty bodies. Clint grabbed Natasha's hand again, and she almost felt butterflies. Almost.

"Stay close!" he yelled. "I'm going to try and get us to the middle. That's where Tony usually is."

Nat could barely hear him overtop of the music, but she nodded nonetheless. Clint squeezed her hand and pulled her into the crowd.

It wasn't that bad. It smelled a lot like BO, and people, especially drunk people, seemed to have a thing for pushing and shoving.

"We're here!" Clint yelled. He pulled out his phone and turned the flashlight app on. Natasha followed his lead. The flashlights helped them to see who was around them. Steve was taking shots at the coffee table in front of the couch, while Tony danced on the couch rather suggestively with a redhead. The redhead turned around and the light from Natasha and Clint's phones revealed her to be Pepper.

Natasha gasped, and then laughed. Even though it was totally gross that her best friend was dancing with their boss's son, Natasha had suspected for a few days that Pepper had feelings for him. Drunk or sober, the truth would have come out eventually.

Pepper would be very appalled tomorrow morning.

"Let's get out of here!" Clint yelled. He grabbed Nat's hand and led her up a stairway and into a dark hallway. Red flags went up everywhere, but Natasha ignored them. Nothing so far revealed Clint's motives to be anything less than gentlemanly. The thought flickered across her mind for a split second, but she pushed it aside. He knew she could fight, and he seemed like a pretty straight-forward guy.

They made their way to the end of the hallway. While walking down to the end, the lights got darker and there were more interesting noises to be heard.

At the end, Clint placed his hand on a wall panel. "Welcome back, Mr. Barton," a voice pair. The wall slid open to reveal another staircase.

These stairs opened up to reveal a long, open hallway with doors every twenty feet or so. Before the hallway was a sort of foyer. The walls were sleek and white, but going up the left side were some silver stripes. Clint pulled the first silver stripe out, and then a second. Hopping onto the makeshift stairs, he held out his hand for Natasha once more.

She hesitated, and then took it. Clint led her up the stripes, pulling them out as they came to them. Finally their heads were almost touching the ceiling. He let go of Nat's hand and pushed up on the ceiling until it gave way to a whole other room.

"Welcome to the Batcave," he told her. While Natasha stood somewhat stunned on the stairs, Clint ran around his room, cleaning up clothes and rearranging items. His room was definitely interesting.

"Are you sure this is a guest room?" Natasha asked.

Clint laughed. "Yeah, I've been living here for a little over a year, so I'm pretty sure."

The room was different. In one corner was a bed, and beside it was a bedside table and a dresser. Across the room was a television and a sofa, positioned so that you could watch TV comfortably from both the couch and the bed. Hanging on one of the walls was a bow, framed, and a dart board. In the center of the target three darts were squished together. Across from everything and to the left of the entrance were floor to ceiling windows that overlooked both the pool, and the cliff. Had his room been cleaner, it would have looked like something straight out of a Pottery Barn magazine.

"Do you like?" he asked, gesturing around them.

Natasha flopped onto the couch. "I love it."

Clint smiled. "C'mon! Get up! This isn't even why we came up here!"

Natasha stood up. "And what would that reason be?"

Clint made a 'follow me' motion like the ones he had used earlier in the night. He walked to what looked like a closet, carefully hidden in plain sight. On the inside the closet was completely normal, but Clint wasn't showing her the closet. He was showing her a ladder inside the closet that led to the roof.

Clint went up first, unlocking the water-tight door and pressing upwards. He climbed out onto the roof and held the door/hatch for Natasha. After she stepped out, he lowered the hatch down behind her. With a hiss-like sound it clicked shut.

"Voila," Clint motioned all around him. They were back on the roof, a little ways away from the lounge chairs.

"Wait, so you're telling me that we could have gone through the inside that way?"

"Nope," he nudged the door with his foot. "First, the trampoline is way more fun. Second, the door only opens from the inside."

"That's stupid," Natasha muttered. She shoved her hands in her pockets and began walking back towards the lounge chairs. They both sat down on the chairs when they reached them, and they sat across from each other. Clint looked at his watch and then back up at Natasha.

"It's a little after midnight. What time do you me to take you home at?"

She was silent. If she went home now, she could get a good 9 hours of sleep in. Nat was scheduled to work from 10 AM to 3 PM, but not on the day after, Sunday. "Um how does sometime in the next hour sound. I open tomorrow, so I just need a few hours of sleep."

Clint nodded. "Oh that sucks."

"I know right?"

"On the bright side, you won't be hung over."

"You got that right. You know who will?"

Clint laughed and pointed right below them.

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**Oh my goodness. I feel really bad, it has been like, a month since I've updated... Band just ended, but work didn't, and swimming has started up. I did, however, write FOUR MORE CHAPTERS! Updates should be back to normalish. **

**ugh i dont really like this chapter...the next few, however...**

**Thanks for your patience! and for reading!**


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